Photographic Styles
From the get go, any photograph is either posed or it isn't! I'll briefly touch on a few terms and their wedding applications.
Editorial photography: photographs made to illustrate a story or idea. This wide ranging style's approach may include posing and the subjects may be actively or passively prompted. Its subset categories include candid and photojournalism, individually described below.
Photojournalism: Photographs made in this context are accepted as a truthful documentation of a news story presented primarily through photographs. The subjects are never posed nor prompted in order for the image to retain its integrity! The photojournalists effectiveness depends upon their ability to avoid interfering with any eventual outcome and/or the subject's behavior. This approach is used throughout the wedding day, whenever the photographer manages to remain "invisible". Wedding photojournalism, as it has been called for the last 30 years, is the style that delivers the most poignant images. It's also the most challenging and my personal favorite.
Even though anyone can go around taking shots of people mingling, being able to anticipate and capture fleeting emotion or decisive moments, not to mention the need to know when and where to stand to capture them, is an art that takes many years of experience to be effective! The unobtrusiveness of photojournalism and candid, which I'll discuss next, leaves no footprints on your schedule and makes photography revolve around you!
Candid photography is "snapshot photography" that focuses on spontaneity and involves capturing people living an event. Even though not formally posed, the subjects may be actively or passively prompted with the presence of a camera or verbal comment. This is the most commonly used style to cover weddings and many other events.
Classic or Traditional wedding photography refers to pre-planned and posed portraiture and most people only think of "Formal Portraits" but it also includes contemporary variants such as glamour (emphasizing bride) and fashion (emphasizing clothing); it may even be a boudoir portrait as shown above. Architectural (emphasizing venue) and still life images (emphasizing details) also fall on this side of the scale hence, it would be a mistake to assume that such a broad style with so many variants could ever be passé, as many like to refer to it! Classic also means timeless and your photographer's abilities must allow him/her keep it that way! Claiming it as passé is a hint of inadequate understanding or ability or both!
Because the classical/traditional style is structured, a slower approach is necessary. Time needed depends on subject matter, location and lighting/set up conditions. Unlike the cookie cutter approach, time spent composing each image does not fall into the one size fits all category! Additionally, because of the variety of styles within this style, the photographer's creativity can flourish. Glamourous images for example, the kind commonly found in contemporary magazines, are always popular with brides. Images for these variations are created by using illustrative photography (staged set-ups) to bring out the best in everyone's look, the venue's attributes and various other details to ultimately reveal an event's style. All of these require a high level of artistic and technical skill, a great sense of fashion and design, in order to deliver innovative, predictable and desirable results. The drawback is its dependence on time allocation, forcing your wedding day's scheduled events to revolve around photography!
Of course, part of the classic/traditional category wouldn't be complete without family portraiture. They're a unique opportunity to record the usually scattered family members of all ages, something that in time is invaluable! This style requires a specific skill set (portraiture) and a great background so, you should read the location page. This is where a shoot list is of absolute importance to keep it all organized and for maximum efficiency.
Because the photographer you hire is on your meter, you can ask for any type or number of specific group/family shots you want! However, keep this important point in mind:
A portrait-a-thon is going to rob everyone of beautiful moments that would otherwise take place naturally and as a result, it prevents your photographer from capturing them!
Unless you plan enough time for formals and have a specific shoot list, you will rob precious time away from the type of shots that most likely attracted you to hiring your photographer! My planning page addresses this issue in more detail.
Digitally captured images can easily be converted from color to black and white. This should only be done at the time of printing! The originals should be left in color in order to keep both options open as well as allowing for various renditions within each version. Black and white is making a huge come back, its timeless feel creates a style all by itself. It produces highly engaging images, so don't underestimate or neglect its impact on your album content! Another great advantage is that, if the backgrounds are less than optimal (color conflicts or lack of color) black and white can eliminate most distractions.
What's my approach ?
I fell that an event as varied as a wedding day, requires all styles & variants to be used in a timely manner...
Ability & Flexibility are Key ! 
